Intersections of Ethnicity, Poverty and Mobility in Russia unveiled by the Russo-Ukrainian War

CBEES Advanced Seminar with Guzel Yusupova, Humboldt Research Fellow, Institute for East European Studies, Freie Universität Berlin

Speaker: Guzel Yusupova, Humboldt Research Fellow, Institute for East European Studies, Freie Universität Berlin

Discussant: Cagla Demirel, Ph.D. in Political Science, Södertörn University

Chair: Olena Podolian, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at CBEES, Södertörn University

Abstract: The Russo-Ukrainian war has sparked many speculations and debates around ethnic minorities of Russia being sent to the war in greater numbers and dying in greater numbers than ethnic Russians. Most observers agree that this is because some ethnic republics of Russia happen to be the poorest ones (just by chance). However, this explanation implicitly suggests that economic incentives are crucial for participation in the war on behalf of Russia. This paper shows how this overlap between ethnicity and economic inequality works in relation to the war beyond economic explanation and unveils specific power relations that force vulnerable groups to agree to die. It argues that intersectionality of vulnerabilities (ruralness, poverness, ethnic minority origin) is also shaped by multi-dimensional spatial mobility. While presenting her arguments, the author also challenges the ways of knowledge production in colonial settings which is especially prominent in the availability and credibility of data on Russian ethnic minorities. Based on digital ethnography, autoethnography, expert interviews, available statistics, and geographical mapping she explains the continued coloniality that still shapes contemporary Russian realities and makes certain groups more vulnerable for forced participation in the war.

Guzel Yusupova is a sociologist of identity politics and nationalism with expertise on the post-Soviet space. She is currently a Humboldt Fellow at Osteuropa-Institut, Freie Universitat Berlin. Guzel has held academic appointments in Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden and the Russian Federation. Her research appeared in peer-reviewed academic journals such as Post-Soviet Affairs; Europe-Asia Studies; Ethnicities; Nations and Nationalism and others.